The OroPlatform

From the outset of working on OroCRM, an Open Source CRM application, we felt there was another problem we could address in parallel. We heard over and over from developers, System Integrators and our customers that when they need to build custom business applications they either need to start from scratch at worst or at best struggle to manipulate and fork other applications in order to build the exact application they want. We decided we would approached building OroCRM, starting one level down in the stack and build a reusable, flexible and extendable Business Application Platform (BAP) that would not only serve as a basis for an even better OroCRM, but as a benefit to others building business applications.
The idea is simple, yet very powerful when it comes to rapid development of new and custom applications. Our OroPlatform will include the building blocks that all applications need such as an advanced ACL, Workflows, Reporting, User Management, Data Import-Export tools, flexible and extendable data model and many more features. We also spent a lot of time creating an advanced GUI that can be reused for building applications. Much of our emphasis is being placed on building a web-based work environment that users will find intuitive and efficient.

With all of this work an ecosystem of Oro Applications will be created for the benefit of our joint end users. Companies will be able to install each Oro Application as a stand alone application, but an added exciting benefit to what we are building is that we allow companies to use multiple Oro Applications and have them installed together. When applications are installed together they will be managed in a single admin interface and allow for a set of features to be uitlized across all applications, such as single-sign-on (SSO), access to base entities (product, customer, etc) and the ability to reuse shared features without any extra development or integration work needed.

The OroPlatform is a critical component of what we are building. It will be a separate product from OroCRM, with it’s own release cycle and product roadmap. We are excited about the opportunity ahead for the OroPlatform and look forward to seeing what innovative applications developers will create. Over the next few weeks, check back often as we will be offering more technical details on the OroPlatform, as well as ways to get involved. We look forward to striking Oro together!

How does this relate to Magento, I assume you are using “MageCore” as a tag for a reason :)
Furthermore, where is the source? I know you said you need to clean things up but if you are true to open source, then this is a pretty bad excuse. I mean we all know that code is never perfect and will evolve .. ideally hand in hand!

I think there is nothing wrong with waiting with a release until it’s at a ‘releaseable’ level. Open source means the code will be released under an open sourde license, that doesn’t mean it has to be rushed out and released as soon as you start working on it… It also doesn’t mean that every development stage has to be published, that depends on the business ideas behind it that can vary for several reasons.

First impressions count so I think this is totally understandable and waiting is the sensible thing to do.

Well as an open source developer I am primarily interested in open source as a development model. Obviously there are also people that have developed business models around open source. And yes first impressions count and the first impression is that open source is being chosen here as a business model and not as a development model. Ironically the lack of understanding of open source as a development model was cited as one of the reasons why Yoav left eBay and Magento.